The Consumers' Association of Canada (CAC), the only nationally organized consumers association in Canada, is a direct outgrowth of the Women's Section of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board. This organization was formed during the Second World War to assist in the monitoring of price ceilings, rationing, and in assisting Canadians to achieve maximum use and value from scarce consumer goods. Women from across Canada turned their post-war time experience to a practical purpose - the establishment of a peacetime organization, which provided women with opportunities to continue serving their country. The effectiveness of this massive corps of volunteers led to the permanent establishment of a consumer organization. In September 1947, sixteen major women's organizations met in Ottawa and organized the Canadian Association of Consumers. Within its first year of operation, branches were formed in every province and later in Newfoundland. In Manitoba, Mrs. R.W. Queen-Hughes, the wife of the Lieutenant Governor, called together the provincial representatives of the founding groups and gave them the responsibility of setting up CAC in the province. Mrs. C.K. Newcombe was the first interim chairperson of the Winnipeg Branch until its official establishment in April 1948.